Rating: 
Summary: Lightfooted Prospero
Review: After re-inventing the western in Desperadoes, the religious novel in Mariette in Ecstasy, the mystery story in Atticus and the historical novel in Hitler's Neice, Ron Hansen this time extends the boundaries of the so-called light entertainment. It's as if Shakespeare, after exporing the depths in Macbeth and Hamlet and Othello, had decided to try some lighter fare a la Babette's Feast and give now his own As You Like It and The Tempest rolled in one. It's a wonderful clash of cultures--a young French couple stranded in Nebraska in a sort of Midsummer Night's Dream, a world where fantasy and farce interweave in this sophisticated comedy of errors. What do you do with the age-old, ever-new theme of boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy finds girl again (or vice versa), when you mix this in with French opera bouffe and a variety of French wine stock replanted (like the book's protagonists) in the new world, but reinvent America in a comic mode, with Hansen's characteristically understated, graceful (in all senses of that word) and finely-tuned American prose. Here's light, here's grace, here's a special Valentine's bouquet for lovers of all ages--lovers of life, lovers of good wine, lovers of laughter, lovers of fine prose. Here's Hansen in yet another dimension, tapdancing across the stage this time round. And don't be fooled by the book's subtitle "An Entertainment." This is a read you will want to come back to for all those delicious little surprises under the wrappers.
Rating: 
Summary: Isn't it Terrible
Review: Completely unfunny and geared for people without any intelligence or desire to educate oneself (see the always-translated French in parentheses). Is this book funny? Non (no). Is it silly? Oui. (yes).
Rating: 
Summary: One of the worst books I have read in a very long time
Review: I found this novel to be nothing more than loosely thrown together characters immersed in a weak and scattered plot. The only character I could even remotely identify with was Pierre, and this was only because he was dropped into the middle of Nebraska, not really understanding what was going on around him - exactly the way I felt throughout most of this book. This story has no soul, no heart, and isn't worth the few hours it takes to wade through it.
Rating:
Summary: One of the worst books I have read in a very long time
Review: I found this novel to be nothing more than loosely thrown together characters immersed in a weak and scattered plot. The only character I could even remotely identify with was Pierre, and this was only because he was dropped into the middle of Nebraska, not really understanding what was going on around him - exactly the way I felt throughout most of this book. This story has no soul, no heart, and isn't worth the few hours it takes to wade through it.
Rating: 
Summary: Laugh-out-loud funny, but a conventional finale
Review: I laughed out loud at the characters, dialogue and unlikely situations in this delightful book, but was disappointed in a perfunctory, conventional ending. Toward the end, the writing descends into a staccatto, scripty patter that makes one think the author has a screen treatment in mind. Not a bad idea. Nonetheless, it's a quick, delightful read and recommended. All the more funny if you're French, from Nebraska, or both. The character Owen is a complete scream -- my favorite.
Rating:
Summary: This is the first book I read by this author
Review: I thought this book was okay- not the best I have ever read, but not the worst either.It reminded me alot of Northern Exposure for some reason, and
the end reminded me of an old movie with the characters all chasing each other in and out of all the doors. The idea was cute, and I would have liked to have seen more
depth in the plot and the characters. Ellen
Rating:
Summary: Ron Hansen can write in all genres
Review: I've really enjoyed Ron Hansen's novels and non-fiction. A Stay Against Confusion was particularly meaningful to me. Then he writes one of the funniest novels I've read in a long time. Truly you will laugh out loud as others have said.
The people in this novel are true stock characters and yet they seem real; the reader will want everyone to be happy at the end of all the comedy.
I really don't want a movie made of this: the descriptions suffice. What a talent is Professor Hansen!
Rating:
Summary: Ron Hansen can write in all genres
Review: I've really enjoyed Ron Hansen's novels and non-fiction. A Stay Against Confusion was particularly meaningful to me. Then he writes one of the funniest novels I've read in a long time. Truly you will laugh out loud as others have said.
The people in this novel are true stock characters and yet they seem real; the reader will want everyone to be happy at the end of all the comedy.
I really don't want a movie made of this: the descriptions suffice. What a talent is Professor Hansen!
Rating: 
Summary: It IS an entertainment!
Review: It's right there in the title for Pete's sake! This book is a departure from Ron Hansen's usually more literary works, in much the same way Grisham and Balducci left their genres to write literary books and Christmas themed books. I read Isn't it Romantic on an airplane trip and couldn't wait to turn it over to my husband so we could talk about it. I cracked up throughout the whole thing, especially when Owen says to Pierre that "This chicken tastes just like frog". I want this book produced as a movie because it has all the potential for hilarity if cast well. This book is not a grade B work by Hansen, it's a unique little delight, something we can all appreciate from time to time.
Rating:
Summary: It IS an entertainment!
Review: It's right there in the title for Pete's sake! This book is a departure from Ron Hansen's usually more literary works, in much the same way Grisham and Balducci left their genres to write literary books and Christmas themed books. I read Isn't it Romantic on an airplane trip and couldn't wait to turn it over to my husband so we could talk about it. I cracked up throughout the whole thing, especially when Owen says to Pierre that "This chicken tastes just like frog". I want this book produced as a movie because it has all the potential for hilarity if cast well. This book is not a grade B work by Hansen, it's a unique little delight, something we can all appreciate from time to time.
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